JBU sends 77 to honor roll

For the third time in Sooner Athletic Conference history, the league has announced a conferencewide Commissioner’s Honor Roll. John Brown University boasts the fourth-most total honorees with 91, league offices announced June 19.

To be eligible for the Commissioner’s Honor Roll, student-athletes must maintain a minimum 3.00 GPA during the previous academic year.

“I am so proud of our studentathletes and their commitment to excellence in the classroom,” said Robyn Daugherty, director of athletics. “In a world where athletic performance overshadows academic achievement, it is exciting to me to see 50 percent of our student-athletes at a 3.00 or higher, especially at an institution where academics are very challenging.”

With 77 honorees, JBU boasts the fourth-highest number of student-athletes honored. Texas Wesleyan led all conference institutions with 106 winners while Oklahoma City landed 94 and Wayland Baptist (Texas) finished third with 88. Over 50 percent of all Golden Eagles were named to the honor roll and 48 were repeat winners.

Four programs experienced an increase in student-athletes honored, led by volleyball’s 14,

three more than last season. Both women’s basketball (10) and women’s soccer (16) upped their totals by two while men’s cross country (12) added one more than last season.

Women’s soccer recorded the highest number of honorees among Sooner Athletic institutions, as did volleyball.

Women’s basketball surged to the secondmost number of selections behind Southwestern Christian (14).

The awards are presented by Cypress Risk Management, an Omaha, Neb.,-based insurance agency that specializes in providing customized solutions for collegiate student health and athletic accident insurance. The organization currently insures over 500,000 students nationwide and is already engaged with several other NAIA conferences in similar type of partnerships.